Burke named new BLPA president

Wednesday

Steenstra said he feels Burke will do a phenomenal job. Steenstra is not leaving the board, just moving on to another venture, starting the Burt Lake Sturgeon Club.

BURT LAKE- Former Vice-President Jim Burke has been named the new president of the Burt Lake Preservation Association after David Steenstra made the decision to pass the torch.

“It has been one of the best times in my life, serving as the BLPA president for the past 10 years. This is an incredible organization, blessed with a fantastic board, and of course, 600 passionate members,” said Steenstra in the organization's January newsletter. “I'm leaving the leadership team in great hands. Jim Burke has been serving as BLPA vice-president and will now take over as president.”

Steenstra said he feels Burke will do a phenomenal job. Steenstra is not leaving the board, just moving on to another venture, starting the Burt Lake Sturgeon Club.

Normally, the position of president on the board is a one year position, but it is expected the president will serve around three years in that capacity.

"Dave was way overdue," said Burke. "He made it very clear that it was time for somebody to step up. I was vice president, which is just kind of a normal escalation, a normal transition. I decided to do that."

Burke said when you think about it, in any kind of position, elected or volunteer, one year is not a lot of time to get things done. One year is normally what it takes just to get your feet solidly on the ground and get moving forward.

"In this particular case, in my case because I've been on the board for so long, it's just like stepping into an old pair of shoes," said Burke. "It's pretty comfortable. It's pretty simple."

With his new position on the board, Burke will have several new responsibilities to handle. As vice president, he was the right hand man of the president. He was taking care of things in the background and doing little things so Steenstra could take care of the bigger matters.

"Now I'm taking care of the big things," said Burke.

The Burt Lake Preservation is an organization who acts as the voice of Burt Lake. They are not a homeowners association, rather thy do everything they can to make sure the lake is taken care of. When certain situations arise, mostly environmental, the association asks themselves "what would the lake say?" when it comes to that.

"The lake has no voice other than us," said Burke. "If it's things like yard debris, fertilizer runoff and things like that getting into the lake, what would the lake say? The lake would say I don't like that and something needs to be done."

For example, one of the members of BLPA had asked if the organization was going to do something about the noisy boats on the lake. That is not something the BLPA normally addresses, it is something local law enforcement takes care of.

"Noise is not our issue. Noise is a people issue. What would the lake say? The lake doesn't care," said Burke. "So, that's what BLPA is, very simply put, we are the voice of the lake. We speak for the lake."

Burke is very excited to move into his position as president of the board. He has been with the board since 1998, except for a couple year hiatus, and feels it is a natural transition from his previous position.

He has a passion for the lake, as an avid boater and fisherman.

"I love the lake and strive to make it a better place for future generations," said Burke. "As an ancient Indian proverb says, the lake was not given to you by your ancestors, it is loaned to you by your children's children."

As president, he plans to continue helping out the 14 members of the board of directors, focusing on the issues that involve the lake. He has a great understanding of how the board works and has been working with many of the other organizations, such as Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, Little Traverse Conservancy, Department of Natural Resources and others, for many years.

"I have been working with them all along, so it's really nothing new," said Burke. "The future looks bright. We're a thriving organization, we're doing better every year and this year is no exception. We're doing better this year than last year."

Burke said the membership to the organization is up and people are very active.

"They really care. People care," he said.

The BLPA is always looking for new members, people who are interested and passionate about the lake and keeping it healthy and safe for everyone.

The membership is not about contributions to the organization, nor the money. They feel that the money will be there if there is a big situation that arises. They find their power in the numbers.

"Our voice gets more respected with every new member. It's all about membership, that's where we derive our strength," said Burke.

The Burt Lake Sturgeon Club that Steenstra will be focusing on is working to enhance and protect the habitat for the ancient and indigenous Burt Lake sturgeon. The BLPA and Sturgeon Club are partnered with Sturgeon for Tomorrow, the DNR and several area Native American tribes, specifically the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, in this effort.

The membership to be a part of the sturgeon club is free and more information can be found on the BLPA's website, www.blpa.org.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.